Theseus Adventures Theseus Adventures See More Theseus Adventures Pictures > Once, there was a young boy named Theseus . Nobody knew who his father was, for both King Aegeus of Athens and Poseidon had been fond of his mother Aethra . Right before Theseus was born, Aegeus said to Aethra , "If we shall have a son, then when he becomes of age, tell him to lift this rock and take my sword and sandals." Aegeus then hid both his sword and his sandals under a large boulder and set sail for Athens . This happened in a small town called Troezen , where Theseus grew into a strong, young man. When Aethra thought it was time, she took Theseus to the large boulder and told him to lift it. Theseus wrapped his mighty arms around the boulder and lifted it with no difficulty at all. Then, he threw the boulder into a nearby forest. Aethra then told him to take the sword and sandals and go to Athens .

Theseus Journeys to Athens Aethra and her father begged Theseus to go to Athens by sea, for horrible robbers and bandits inhabited the road, but Theseus was bold and went overland. After a few miles, he met a large man with a shiny club. "I am Periphetes, the cudgel man, and I'm going to bash your head with this club," he said. "That's a mighty fine club you have there," replied Theseus . "Pure brass." "It's just wood wrapped in brass." "Here, look at it to make sure." Periphetes handed the club to Theseus . Theseus hit Periphetes on the side of the head with it. "Not bad," thought Theseus , "not bad at all. I think I'll keep this." Theseus continued on his journey. Not much further, he saw a giant man with a battle axe, standing on the side of the road. "I am Sciron and these are my cliffs. To pass you must wash my feet as a toll!" the man said. "What would happen if I didn't?" replied Theseus .

"I will chop off your head with this axe, and don't think that puny little twig you're carrying will save you, you're absolutely...WRONG!!!!" Sciron yelled. So, Theseus sat down and started to wash Sciron's feet. Theseus looked over the side of the cliff, and saw a monstrous turtle at the bottom. That's when her realised that Sciron was the infamous giant that threw people off the cliff for his man-eating turtle. When he took a grasp of Sciron's foot, Theseus jerked aside and hurled Sciron off the cliff. Theseus walked further ahead when he saw a man that looked remarkably like Sciron. The man said, "Could you do me a favor young man? Hold this pine tree down for me." The man's name was Sinis, the pine-bender. Sinis bent a pine tree down and waited for Theseus to hold the tree down with him. Then, Sinis let go, expecting Theseus to be catapulted in the air; however, Theseus held it down.

Sinis stooped down to get a better look at the tree, thinking that it had been broken, when Theseus let go of the tree, hitting Sinis in the chin and knocking him unconscious. Theseus then tied Sinis' legs to one bent pine tree, his arms to another. Then, Theseus let go, the trees ripping Sinis in half; vultures screamed with delight. Theseus went on his way again. After a few miles, it got dark. Theseus saw a large house up ahead of him. He decided to ask the owner for a bed for the night, so he walked up to the door and knocked. A man came to the door and said, "Welcome young man. Come in, you look tired. My name is Procrustes. I have a magic bed for you to stay the night on. It is exactly six feet long, but can fit anyone, be they short or tall." Theseus had been warned about a man named Procrustes. His so called "magic" bed did fit anyone, but in an unpleasant way. If a person was too short, Procrustes would chain their arms and legs and stretch them.

If they were too tall, he would chop off their legs until they were just right. Procrustes led Theseus into the room where the bed was. Theseus pushed Procrustes onto the bed and chopped off his legs; and just so Procrustes wouldn't feel any pain, he sliced his head off too. Theseus Recognized The next morning Theseus reached Athens . It was the largest city he had ever seen. He went to the palace where Aegeus lived. Aegeus had married Medea , who (being a sorceress) had him under her power. With her powers, Medea recognized Theseus and knew that he would try to get rid of her. So she told Aegeus that Theseus had come to kill him and that she would give Theseus poisoned wine. Aegeus , unaware that Theseus was his son, agreed. He invited Theseus to a banquet; however, when Theseus was just about to drink his wine, Aegeus recognized the sword and threw the wine cup to the floor. Theseus and Aegeus were filled with happiness. Medea left in a chariot drawn by dragons.

Theseus Journeys to Minos Theseus and Aegeus were happy for a long time, but when the time of the spring equinox came, all Athenians were in desperation, as a ship with black sail approached Athens . Theseus begged his father to tell him why the Athenians were sad, but Aegeus said nothing. Theseus went down to the harbor and asked the captain of the black-sailed ship what was happening. The captain told him about how Androgeus, the eldest son of King Minos of Crete , had accidentally been killed in Athens . Minos was very angry. He attacked Athens and demanded that the Athenians pay a yearly tribute of seven young man and seven young women to be fed to the Minotaur . The Minotaur was a monster, half man and half bull, residing in the Labyrinth, a large maze under King Minos ' palace. Theseus went back to Aegeus and said, "I will go to Crete as one of the victims and I will slay the Minotaur!" "No, my son," said Aegeus , "you mustn't go. You are my only son.

The only heir to the throne." "I must go, father. I must prove that I am a hero ." said Theseus . In the end, Aegeus let Theseus go, but made him promise that if he returned back to Athens alive, he should change the black sails to white ones. So, Theseus volunteered to go as one of the fourteen tributes. When Theseus and his companions landed at Crete , Minos was there to welcome them. He asked each of them who they were. When he asked Theseus , he said, "I am Theseus , prince of Athens , son of Poseidon!" "If you were the prince of Athens ," Minos said, "wouldn't old Aegeus be your father? To prove you are the son of Poseidon , fetch my ring," he said, throwing it into the sea. Praying to Poseidon , Theseus dived into the water. He saw the nymph Thetis , who gave him the ring and an old crown. Theseus went back to shore holding the ring and the crown; Minos laughed. That night Theseus was visited by Minos ' daughter Ariadne .

She said to him, "Theseus, I want to help you kill the Minotaur , but promise me to take me with you to Athens afterwards, and make me your queen." Theseus agreed and Ariadne gave Theseus a ball of silk thread, telling him to tie it to the entrance of the Labyrinth, unrolling it as he moved through the tunnels. The string would lead him back to the entrance. The following day, Theseus and his companions were forced into the Labyrinth. Theseus tied the string onto a rock and told everyone to follow him. He led them towards the center of the Labyrinth where the Minotaur was. When they got there, they saw the beast sleeping. Theseus jumped on it and ripped off one of its horns. Theseus started poking with the horn at the Minotaur , who was furious. Then, Theseus ran to a safe distance and threw the horn like a javelin. The horn ripped into the monsters neck and was stuck there. The Minotaur , enraged, charged at Theseus , but fell dead before reaching him. Everyone cheered and Theseus became a hero! They followed the thread back to the entrance of the Labyrinth.

Theseus , Ariadne , and the rest of the tributes boarded the black-sailed ship and set sail for Athens . One night, the god Dionysus came to Theseus and said, "You mustn't marry Princess Ariadne , for I have chosen her as my own bride. Leave her on the island of Naxos." Theseus did as the god told him, but he was so sad that he forgot to change the sails. As the ship approached Athens , Aegeus sat on a cliff watching and waiting for Theseus to come; when he saw the black sails, he jumped into the sea. As a result, that fatal stretch of water was named after him and became the Aegean. Theseus Adventures Is also called Adventures of Theseus, The Adventures of Theseus, Theseus' Adventures. theseus Back Theseus kills the Minotaur Every nine years the Athenians sent seven youths and maidens to be sacrificed to the Minotaur, half-man, half-bull, that lived in King Minos' Labyrinth on Crete. Theseus, son of King Aegeus bravely offered to join the next victims and try to kill the Minotaur.

His father begged him not to go with the others, but Theseus insisted, and prepared to sail for Crete. He hung a black sail on his ship but promised to return with a white sail raised, if he was successful. When Theseus finally landed, he found King Minos waiting with his daughter Ariadne. Ariadne fell in love with Theseus, and decided to save him from the Minotaur and marry him. That night, Ariadne gave Theseus a sword, and a ball of magic thread to guide him out of the maze. Next day, the Athenians were thrown into the Labyrinth. Once inside, Theseus tied one end of the thread to the door and set off in search of the Minotaur. The Labyrinth was a confusing maze of cold, dark passages. Suddenly Theseus came face to face with the monster. The struggle was long and fierce, for the Minotaur was enormously strong. But Theseus eventually drove his sword through its heart and it sank to the ground, dead. Following the thread, Theseus traced back to the entrance of the Labyrinth. Ariadne quickly unlocked the door. Then everyone ran for the ship and set sail for Athens.

King Aegeus, watched anxiously for Theseus' ship to return. When it came it still had a black sail. Theseus had forgotten his promise to change it. Sighting the black sail and thinking the worst,the King threw himself onto the rocks below. Ooops! Many versions of the Greek legends are quite complicated. Try the Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Greek Mythology for 'simple' versions. Ariadne | Greek Mythology Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Ariadne was born to King Minos and Pasiphae . Theseus Ariadne saw Theseus , and fell in love with him. He volunteered to slay the Minotaur , which broke her heart to think he would die. She spoke with Daedalus , and he gave her some yarn to guide him out. She thanked him, and gave it to Theseus. Theseus ended up slaying the Minotaur, and came out of the Labyrinth thanks to the ball of yarn. Theseus took Ariadne with him back to Athens, before Minos could kill them. Theseus, however, grew bored of her, and brought her to the island of Naxos.

They fell asleep that night, and Theseus left early in the morning, before she ever awoke, thus abandoning her. Dionysus Days later, Ariadne was on the verge of death, and had been crying the whole time. She gave up everything for Theseus, who left her to die. Dionysus saw her when he went to Naxos, which was his favorite island, and not only pitied her but also loved her. He cursed Theseus to forget to change his sails from black to white, indicating his victory, and then married Ariadne. Gallery of Ariadne Ariadne - definition of Ariadne by The Free Dictionary Ariadne - definition of Ariadne by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Acronyms , Encyclopedia , Wikipedia . Ar·i·ad·ne (ăr′ē-ăd′nē) n. Greek Mythology The daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë who gave Theseus the thread with which he found his way out of the Minotaur's labyrinth.

Ariadne (ˌærɪˈædnɪ) n (Classical Myth & Legend) Greek myth daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë: she gave Theseus the thread with which he found his way out of the Minotaur's labyrinth Ar•i•ad•ne (ˌær iˈæd ni) n. (in Greek myth) a daughter of King Minos who gave Theseus the thread by which he escaped from the labyrinth: deserted by Theseus, she became the bride of Dionysus. ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend: Noun 1. Ariadne - beautiful daughter of Minos and Pasiphae; she fell in love with Theseus and gave him the thread with which he found his way out of the Minotaur's labyrinth Translations MINOTAUR (Minotauros) - Bull-Headed Man of Greek Mythology Bull of Minos Theseus and the Minotaur, Athenian black-figure kylix C6th B.C., Toledo Museum of Art THE MINOTAUROS (Minotaur) was a bull-headed monster born to Queen Pasiphae of Krete (Crete) after she coupled with a bull.

The creature resided in the twisting maze of the labyrinth where it was offfered a regular sacrifice of youths and maidens to satisfy its cannibalistic hunger. The beast was eventually slain by the hero Theseus. The Minotauros' proper name Asterion, "the starry one," suggests he might have been associated with the constellation Tauros. FAMILY OF THE MINOTAUR PARENTS THE KRETAN BULL & PASIPHAE (Apollodorus 3.8, Callimachus Hymn 4.311, Diodorus Siculus 4.77.1, Philostratus Elder 1.16, Hyginus Fab.

40, Ovid Metamorphoses 8.130, Virgil Aeneid 6.24, Suidas) ENCYCLOPEDIA MINOTAURUS (Minôtauros), a monster with a human body and a bull's head, or, according to others, with the body of an ox and a human head; is said to have been the offspring of the intercourse of Pasiphaë with the bull sent from the sea to Minos, who shut him up in the Cnossian labyrinth, and fed him with the bodies of the youths and maidens whom the Athenians at fixed times were obliged to send to Minos as tribute. The monster was slain by Theseus. It was often represented by ancient artists either alone in the labyrinth, or engaged in the struggle with Theseus. (Paus. i. 24. § 2, 27, in fin. iii. 18. § 7; Apollod. iii. 1. § 4, 15. § 8.) Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.

ALTERNATE NAMES Theseus and the Minotaur, Athenian red-figure kylix C6th B.C., Musée du Louvre Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 3. 8 - 11 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) : "Minos aspired to the throne [of Krete (Crete)], but was rebuffed. He claimed, however, that he had received the sovereignty from the gods, and to prove it he said that whatever he prayed for would come about. So while sacrificing to Poseidon, he prayed for a bull to appear from the depths of the sea, and promised to sacrifice it upon its appearance. And Poseidon did send up to him a splendid bull. Thus Minos received the rule, but he sent the bull to his herds and sacrificed another . . . Poseidon was angry that the bull was not sacrificed, and turned it wild. He also devised that Pasiphae should develop a lust for it. In her passion for the bull she took on as her accomplice an architect named Daidalos (Daedalus) . . . He built a woden cow on wheels, . . .

skinned a real cow, and sewed the contraption into the skin, and then, after placing Pasiphae inside, set it in a meadow where the bull normally grazed. The bull came up and had intercourse with it, as if with a real cow. Pasiphae gave birth to Asterios (Asterius), who was called Minotauros (Minotaur). He had the face of a bull, but was otherwise human. Minos, following certain oracular instructions, kept him confined and under guard in the labyrinth. This labyrinth, which Daidalos built, was a ‘cage with convoluted flextions that disorders debouchment.’" Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 3. 213 : "The god [i.e. the oracle of Delphoi (Delphi)] told them [the Athenians] to give Minos [king of Krete (Crete)] whatever retribution he should chose . . . He ordered them to send seven young men and seven girls, unarmed, to be served as food to the Minotauros (Minotaur).

The Minotauros was kept in a labyrinth, from which there was no escape after one entered, for it closed off its imperceivable exit with convoluted flexions. It had been constructed by Daidalos (Daedalus)." Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca E1. 7 - 1. 9 : "Theseus was on the list of the third tribute to the Minotauros (Minotaur)--some day he volunteered--. . . [Ariadne] pleaded with Daidalos (Daedalus) to tell her the way out of the labyrinth. Following his instructions, she gave Theseus a ball of thread as he entered. He fastened this to the door and let it trail behind him as he went in. He came across the Minotauros in the furthest section of the labyrinth, killed him with jabs of his fist, and then made his way out again by pulling himself along the thread." Callimachus, Hymn 4 to Delos 311 ff (trans.

Mair) (Greek poet C3rd B.C.) : "[Theseus] escaped the cruel bellowing and the wild [Minotauros (Minotaur)] son of Pasiphae and the coiled habitation of the crooked labyrinth." Strabo, Geography 10. 4. 8 (trans. Jones) (Greek geographer C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) : "[Minos] was tyrannical, harsh, and an exactor of tribute, representing in tragedy the story of the Minotauros (Minotaur) and the Labyrinth, and the adventures of Theseus and Daidalos (Daedalus)." Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. 24. 1 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) : "[On the Akropolis (Acropolis) in Athens] is represented the fight which legend says Theseus fought with the so-called Tauros (Bull) of Minos [the Minotauros], whether this was a man or a beast of nature he is said to have been in the accepted story.

For even in our time women have given birth to far more extraordinary monsters than this." Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. 27. 10 : "Minos sailed against Athens with a fleet, not believing that the Athenians were innocent of the death of Androgeos (Androgeus) [killed by the Marathonian Bull], and sorely harassed them until it was agreed that he should take seven maidens and seven boys for the Minotauros (Minotaur) that was said to dwell in the Labyrinth at Knossos." Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 31. 1 : "In the market-place of Troizenos (Troezen) [in Argolis] is a temple of Artemis Soteira (Saviour), with images of the goddess. It was said that the temple was founded and the name Soteria (Saviour) given by Theseus when he returned from Krete after overcoming Asterion [the Minotauros (Minotaur)] the son of Minos." Pausanias, Description of Greece 3. 18.

10 - 16 : "[Amongst the scenes depicted on the throne of Apollon at Amyklai (Amyclae) :] I cannot say why Bathykles (Bathycles) has represented the Bull of Minos bound, and being led along alive by Theseus . . . There is represented the fight between . . . Theseus and the Bull of Minos (Tauron ton Mino) [the Minotauros]." Labyrinth of the Minotaur, Greco-Roman mosaic from Villa on the Via Cadolini C1st A.D., Archaeological Museum of Cremona Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 4. 61. 4 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek historian C1st B.C.) : "[Minos demands compensation from the Athenians for the murder of his son Androgeus :] Minos commanded them that they give seven youths and as many maidens every nine years to the Minotauros (Minotaur) for him to devour, for as long as the monster should live. And when the Athenians gave them, the inhabitants of Attika (Attica) were rid of their evils and Minos ceased warring on Athens . . .

Theseus after conversing with her [Ariadne, daughter of Minos] and securing her assistance, both slew the Minotauros and got safely away, since he had learned from her the way out of the labyrinth." Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 4. 77. 1 : "Pasiphae, the wife of Minos, became enamoured of the bull [the Cretan Bull], and Daidalos (Daedalus), by fashioning a contrivance in the shape of a cow, assisted Pasiphae to gratify her passion. In explanation of this the myths offer the following account: before this time it had been the custom of Minos annually to dedicate to Poseidon the fairest bull born in his herds and to sacrifice it to the god; but at the time in question there was born a bull of extraordinary beauty and he sacrificed another from among those which were inferior, whereupon Poseidon becoming angry at Minos, caused his wife Pasiphae to become enamoured of the bull.

And by means of the ingenuity of Daidalos Pasiphae had intercourse with the bull and gave birth to the Minotauros (Minotaur), famed in the myth. This creature, they say, was of double form, the upper parts of the body as far as the shoulders being those of a bull and the remaining parts those of a man. As a place in which to keep this monstrous thing Daidalos, the story goes, built a labyrinth, the passage-ways of which were so winding that those unfamiliar with them had difficulty in making their way out; in this labyrinth the Minotaur was maintained and here it devoured the seven youths and seven maidens which were sent to it from Athens, as we have already related." Plutarch, Life of Theseus 15. 1 & 17. 3 & 19. 1 (trans. Perrin) (Greek historian C1st to C2nd A.D.) : "[The young Theseus arrives in Athens :] Not long afterwards there came from Krete (Crete) for the third time the collectors of the tribute . . .

an agreement to send him [Minos] every nine years a tribute of seven youths and as many maidens. And the most dramatic version of the story declares that these young men and women, on being brought to Krete, were destroyed by the Minotauros (Minotaur) in the Labyrinth, or else wandered about at their own will and, being unable to find an exit, perished there; and that the Minotauros, as Euripides says, was ‘A mingled form and hybrid birth of monstrous shape’, and that ‘Two different natures, man and bull, were joined in him’ . . . . Hellanikos (Hellanicus) . . . says the agreement was that the Athenians should furnish the ship, and that the youths should embark and sail with him carrying no warlike weapon, and that if the Minotauros was killed the penalty should cease.

On the two former occasions, then, no hope of safety was entertained, and therefore they sent the ship with a black sail, convinced that their youth were going to certain destruction; but now Theseus encouraged his father and loudly boasted that he would master the Minotauros, so that he gave the pilot another sail, a white one, ordering him, if he returned with Theseus safe, to hoist the white sail, but otherwise to sail with the black one, and so indicate the affliction . . . When he reached Krete on his voyage, most historians and poets tell us that he got from Ariadne, who had fallen in love with him, the famous thread, and that having been instructed by her how to make his way through the intricacies of the Labyrinth, he slew the Minotauros and sailed off with Ariadne and the youths." Philostratus the Elder, Imagines 1. 16 (trans.

Fairbanks) (Greek rhetorician C3rd A.D.) : "[Description of an ancient Greek painting :] Pasiphae is in love with the bull and begs Daidalos (Daedalus) to devise some lure for the creature; and he is fashioning a hollow cow like a cow of the herd to which the bull is accustomed. What their union brought forth is shown by the form of the Minotauros (Minotaur), strangely composite in its nature." Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana 4. 34 (trans. Conybeare) (Greek biography C1st to C2nd A.D.) : "[Apollonios of Tyana] sailed to Knossos (Cnossus) [in Krete (Crete)], where a labyrinth is shown, which, I believe, once on a time, contained the Minotauros (Minotaur)." Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 40 - 43 (trans.

Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) : "Pasiphae, daughter of Sol [Helios] and wife of Minos, for several years did not make offerings to the goddess Venus. Because of this Venus inspired in her an unnatural love for a bull. At the time when Daedalus came there as an exile, he asked her to help him. For her he made a wooden heifer, and put in it the hide of a real heifer, and in this she lay with the bull. From this intercourse she bore the Minotaur, with bull's head but human body. Then Daedalus made for the Minotaur a labyrinth with an undiscoverable exit in which it was confined. When Minos found out the affair he cast Daedalus into prson, but Pasiphae freed him from his chains . . . After he [Minos] conquered the Athenians their revenues became his; he decreed, moreover that each year they should send seven of their children as food for the Minotaur. After Theseus had come from Troezene, and had learned what a calamity afflicted the state, of his own accord he promised to go against the Minotaur . . .

When Theseus came to Crete, Ariadne, Minos' daughter, loved him so much that she betrayed her brother and saved the stranger, or she showed Theseus the way out of the Labyrinth. When Theseus had entered and killed the Minotaur, by Ariadne's advise he got out by unwinding the thread. Ariadne, because she had been loyal to him, he took away, intending to marry her." Theseus and the slain Minotaur, Greco-Roman fresco from Pompeii C1st A.D., Naples National Archaeological Museum Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 38 : "He [Theseus] killed the Minotaur in the town of Cnossus." Ovid, Metamorphoses 8. 130 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) : "That adulteress [Pasiphae] who in a cow of wood beguiled a savage bull and bore a monster [the Minotaur] in her womb! . . .

His [Minos'] dynasty's disgrace has grown; the monstrous beast [Minotauros] hybrid beast declared the queen's obscene adultery. To rid his precincts of this shame the king planned to confine him shut away within blind walls of intricate complexity. The structure was designed by Daedalus, that famous architect. Appearances were all confused; he led the eye astray by a mazy multitude of winding ways . . . Daedalus in countless corridors built bafflement, and hardly could himself make his way out, so puzzling was the maze. Within this labyrinth Minos shut fast the beast, half bull, half man, and fed him twice on Attic blood, lot-chosen each nine years, until the third choice mastered him. The door, so difficult, which none of those before could find again, by Ariadne's aid was found, the thread that traced the way rewound." Ovid, Heroides 2. 67 ff (trans. Showerman) (Roman poetry C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) : "With record of his [Theseus'] deeds. When men shall have read of . . . the mingled form of bull and man [i.e.

the Minotaur]." Ovid, Heroides 4. 59 ff : "[Theseus] the faithless son of Aegeus followed the guiding thread, and escaped from the winding house through the aid my sister [Ariadne] gave." Ovid, Heroides 4. 113 ff : "The bones of my [Phaedra's] brother [the Minotaur] he [Theseus] crushed with his triple-knotted club and scattered o'er the ground; my sister [Ariadne] he left at the mercy of wild beasts." Ovid, Heroides 10. 99 ff : "[Ariadne laments after being abandoned by Theseus on Naxos :] O, that Androgeos (Androgeus) [Ariadne's brother] were still alive, and that thou, O Cecropian land [Athens], hadst not been made to atone for thy impious deeds with the doom of thy children! [I.e.

the children sent to Krete (Crete) to feed the Minotaur.] And would that thy upraised right hand, O Theseus, had not slain with knotty club him [the Minotauros] that was man in part, and in part bull; and I had not given thee the thread to show the way of thy return--thread oft caught up again and passed through the hands led on by it. I marvel not--ah, no!--if victory was thine, and the monster smote with his length the Cretan earth. His horn could not have pierced that iron heart of thine." Ovid, Heroides 10. 125 ff : "You [Theseus] will go to the haven of Cecrops; but when you have been received back home, and have stood in pride before your thronging followers, gloriously telling the death of the man-and-bull [the Minotaur], and of the halls of rock cut out in winding ways, tell, too, of me [Ariadne], abandoned on a solitary shore." Virgil, Aeneid 6. 24 (trans.

Day-Lewis) (Roman epic C1st B.C.) : "Crete rising out of the waves; Pasiphae, cruelly fated to lust after a bull, and privily covered; the hybrid fruit of that monstrous union--the Minotaurus (Minotaur), a memento of her unnatural love." Propertius, Elegies 4. 4 (trans. Goold) (Roman elegy C1st B.C.) : "What marvel that the horns of a monster [the Minotaur] were betrayed by his sister [Ariadne], when the twisted path was revealed by the gathering of her thread." Seneca, Hercules Furens 121 ff (trans. Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st A.D.) : "He [Daidalos (Daedalus)] should return, mighty in Attic cunning, who shut our monster [the Minotaur] in the dark labyrinth." Seneca, Phaedra 173 ff : "[Phaedra's nurse addresses her mistress :] ‘Why do monsters cease? Why does thy brother's [the Minotaur's] labyrinth stand empty?

Shall the world hear of strange prodigies, shall nature's laws give way, whenever a Cretan woman [i.e. such as Pasiphae] loves?’" Seneca, Phaedra 647 ff : "I love, those former looks of his [Theseus'] which once as a youth he had, when his first beard marked his smooth cheeks, when he looked on the dark home of the Cretan monster [the Minotaur], and gathered in the long thread o'er the winding way." Seneca, Phaedra 687 ff : "Thy monster-bearing mother [Pasiphae] . . . She did but pollute herself with her shameful lust, and yet her offspring by its two-shaped infamy [the Minotaur] displayed her crime, though long concealed, and by his fierce visage the hybrid child made clear his mother's guilt." Seneca, Phaedra 1170 ff : "What Cretan bull [the Minotauros], fierce, two-formed monster, filling the labyrinth of Daedalus with his huge bellowings, has torn thee asunder with his horns?" Nonnus, Dionysiaca 47.

434 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) : "[Dionysos addresses Ariadne :] ‘He [Theseus] shed the blood of the halfbull man [the Minotauros (Minotaur)] whose den was the earthdug labyrinth . . . But you know your thread was his saviour: for the man of Athens with his club would never have found victory in that contest without a rosy-red girl to help him.’" Suidas s.v. Aigaion pelagos (trans. Suda On Line) (Byzantine Greek Lexicon C10th A.D.) : "Theseus, the son of Aigeos (Aegeus) the king of Attika (Attica), ruled the Kretans (Cretans) and pursued the Minotauros (Minotaur) into the area of the labyrinthos (and killed him when he was hidden in a cavern. He took to wife the woman Ariadne, who had been born to Minos of Pasiphae, and thus he ruled Krete (Crete)." Suidas s.v.

En panti muthoi kai to Daidalou musos : "It is said that Pasiphae was in love with a bull and begged Daidalos (Daedalus) to make a wooden cow and rig it up and put her in it; and mounting her like a cow, the bull made her pregnant. From her the Minotauros (Minotaur) was born. Minos for certain reasons became angry with the Athenians and collected a tribute of seven virgins and an equal number of young men from them; they were thrown to the beast." ANCIENT GREEK & ROMAN ART Ariadne - Greek Mythology Link About • Copyright © 1997 Carlos Parada and Maicar Förlag. Ariadne advanced Ariadne. 2133: Roman copy of a Greek statue from the end of the 4C AD. Pergamon Museum, Berlin. When Theseus came to Crete , Ariadne, having fallen in love with him, offered to help him to disclose the way out of the Labyrinth if he would agree to take her to Athens and made her his wife.

Theseus agreed and swore to do so, but after leaving Crete he deserted her in Naxos. There she was found by the god Dionysus 2 , who fell in love with her. Early life unknown Ariadne was one of the many children of King Minos 2 of Crete . During her time, the naval power of her father decayed, and she contributed to it by providing aid to Theseus , prince of Athens . And it is when Theseus came to Crete that Ariadne came into the story, for we know nothing about her childhood. The tribute The story says that Ariadne, having consulted the architect Daedalus (the same that constructed a dancing floor for her at Cnossus), helped Theseus to find his way out from the Labyrinth, where he was supposed to be destroyed by the Minotaur , as had been all young men and women that until then had been yearly sent, as a tribute, from Athens to Crete . Theseus was among those who were sent from Athens as the third tribute to the Minotaur , and some have said that he offered himself voluntarily to be a part of this group.

In any case, when Theseus arrived, Ariadne fell in love with him and offered him help if he would agree to marry her and take her with him to Athens . Ariadne's thread Theseus , whose life was in danger, agreed on oath to do so, and Ariadne obtained from Daedalus , the constructor of the Labyrinth, the necessary instructions for finding the way out. At Daedalus ' suggestion, she gave Theseus a ball of thread, which he fastened to the door when he went in, so that, after killing the Minotaur , he could make his way out by gathering the thread. Naval battle This is how Theseus saved his own life and the lives of the young men and girls that had been offered to the Minotaur . When he came out of the Labyrinth, he sailed with them and Ariadne from Crete and came to the island of Naxos, which is one of the Cyclades, and in order to prevent the Cretan fleet to pursue them, he staved in the bottoms of the ships.

But some have said that there was a naval battle in the Cretan harbor as Theseus was sailing out, in which a general of Minos 2 , Taurus 1, lost his life. It is also told that General Taurus 1 was conquered by Theseus in wrestling during certain funeral games held by King Minos 2 . The Cretans, including the king, were particularly pleased to see their own general defeated in the games. Apparently, he was a hateful personage, being accused besides of having intimacy with Queen Pasiphae. It is told that Ariadne saw Theseus for the first time during these games. Invasion of Crete Still others affirm that Theseus came to Crete with a fleet in order to punish Deucalion 2, who had succeeded his father Minos 2 on the throne of Crete , after the king died in Sicily looking for the fugitive Daedalus . As they say, Daedalus came to Athens , and when this was known, Deucalion 2 demanded Daedalus delivered to him, or else he would kill the Athenian hostages.

Theseus answered with courtesy, but he secretly built a fleet, receiving help from King Pittheus of Troezen . When it was ready he set sail, taking with him Daedalus and some Cretan exiles as guides. While doing all this, Theseus kept the friendly atmosphere, so that when the Cretans saw the fleet approaching they did not suspect it to be hostile, and that is why Theseus easily made himself master of the harbor. Having disembarked his troops, he came to Cnossus and took it by surprise, killing Deucalion 2 and his body guard at the gate of the Labyrinth. Theseus , about to enter the Labyrinth, holds Ariadne's thread in his hand. 4503: France, debut de XIXe siècle: Ariane et Thésée. Musée des beaux arts, Rouen. Treason not rewarded According to the tale of the thread and also in accordance with Theseus ' oath, Ariadne and Theseus should have sailed to Athens . But that never happened, probably because Theseus could not suffer to marry her who had betrayed her country.

Such deeds are rarely rewarded: When Scylla 2, for the sake of her passion for the besieger Minos 2 , betrayed both father and city, he, on becoming the master of Megara , tied her by the feet to the stern of a ship and drowned her. And Amphitryon killed Comaetho 1, who having fallen in love with him, betrayed his father and the kingdom of Taphos to him. Also Pisidice 4, princess of Methymna in the island of Lesbos, fell in love with Achilles when he was besieging the city, and she promised to put the town into his possession if he would take her to wife. Achilles consented, but when the town was in his power he bade his soldiers stone her. What happened afterwards What in fact took place when Ariadne and Theseus left Crete , if they did leave together, has been narrated differently: Some have said that Ariadne hung herself when she saw herself abandoned by Theseus . Others say that she was conveyed to Naxos by sailors and that there she lived with Oenarus, priest of Dionysus 2 .

It has also been told that Theseus and the pregnant Ariadne separated in Cyprus, where they came driven by a storm. Theseus set her on shore alone, but while trying to save the ship, he was borne out to sea by the waves. Ariadne then was taken into the care of Cyprian women, who in order to comfort her in her loneliness, brought her forged letters which they said had been written by Theseus . They also buried her in a grove when Ariadne died before giving birth. Still others say that Theseus feared the reproach of the Athenians if he brought Ariadne to the city and so, having come to Dia (an island north of Crete , opposite Cnossos), he left her while she was asleep. And some say that here she was killed by Artemis , following instructions of Dionysus 2 , but others say that Dionysus 2 married brown-haired Ariadne, and Zeus made her deathless and unageing for him. The Crown of Ariadne Ariadne and Dionysus 2 's panther. 1030: Ariadne.

Statue by Johann Heinrich Dannecker, 1758-1841. Städtische Galerie-Liebighaus, Museum alter Plastik, Frankfurt. Dionysus 2 then put the Crown (Corona Borealis) among the constellations, for when he married her on the island of Dia they received wedding gifts from the gods, and among them there was a crown, gift of Aphrodite and the HORAE . Yet others have said that Dionysus 2 received this golden crown with Indian gems from Ariadne herself as a present. A valuable one, for by the glow of the gold and gems Theseus had been able to make his way out of the gloomy Labyrinth, and not as others believed by unwinding the so called Ariadne's thread. But others have said that the crown was given to Ariadne by Theseus after having taken it from the depth of the sea.

For when Theseus came to Crete with the youths there was a dispute between him and King Minos 2 who, refusing to believe that Theseus was Poseidon 's son, drew a gold ring from his finger and cast it into the sea, where it could be easily found by a son of Poseidon . So Theseus cast himself into the sea and brought back, not only the ring of Minos 2 but also the crown that the Nereid Thetis had received from Aphrodite as a wedding gift (though some believe this crown came from Amphitrite, wife of Poseidon ). And as Theseus had now proved both lineage and courage he received Ariadne as wife and he gave the crown to her. Ariadne on his mind On returning from Crete , Theseus was supposed to spread white sails on his ship on approaching Athens . But he, worried because of the loss of Ariadne, forgot the signal that he had agreed with his father Aegeus 1 who, seeing from the Acropolis in Athens the ship with a black sail, thought that Theseus had died, and cast himself down and perished.

Homer tells in the Odyssey 11.325 that Artemis killed Ariadne on the island of Dia at the instigation od Dionysus 2 , when the Cretan princess arrived there with Theseus . Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4.433, says that Theseus forsook her in the island (where they had come escaping from Cnossos), and as we know he sailed to Athens without her. So also Hyginus, Fabulae 43, who says that Theseus and Ariadne were detained by a storm in the island of Dia, where Theseus had second thoughts about his bride (he feared shame and the reproaches of the Athenians), and left her while she was asleep. Thus through the heavenly marriage of Dionysus 2 and Ariadne, Theseus lost his bride and later married her sister Phaedra . 9632: The island of Dia (seen from the Cretan shore at Analipsi) where Theseus forsook Ariadne. Dia is off the northern coast of Crete, opposite Heracleium, the seaport of Cnossos.

Family Ariadne - about the name Ariadne About Ariadne Designs Who was Ariadne? Many clients ask us about our name so this page tells you something about Ariadne and why we chose the name We chose the name Ariadne because she is synonymous with webs and weaving. Ariadne herself was a Greek princess from mythology. Ariadne (Greek Αριάδνη), in Greek mythology (Latin Arianna), was daughter of King Minos of Crete and his queen, Pasiphaë, daughter of Helios, the Sun-titan. She aided Theseus in overcoming the Minotaur and escaping from the labyrinth using a ball of red fleece thread to guide him. According to legend Theseus abandoned Ariadne on the Island of Naxos. There is a famous painting by Titian in which the Greek god Bacchus falls in love with Ariadne (he raises her into heaven and turns her into a constellation). The figure of Ariadne originates from the Greek Island of Crete. The story of Ariadne and Theseus may symbolically represent the overthrow of the Minoan empire by Greece.

The Minoans had a Goddess based culture and it could be that Ariadne is a representation of a Minoan Goddess. In Minoan culture acrobats leapt over bulls during major festivities, it is possible that the Minotaur is derived from the Minoan bulls. Sir Arthur Evans suggested that the labyrinth was in fact the royal palace of Knosos in Crete which he excavated. Knosos had over 1300 rooms and so was indeed like a labyrinth. The name Ariadne means "most holy", composed of the Cretan Greek αρι (ari) "most" and αδνος (adnos) "holy" or "pure". The name certainly suggests a possible link between Ariadne and the Minoan Goddess. Some have suggested that Ariadne was the Minoan snake Goddess . Other uses of the name Ariadne In mythology Ariadne was the bride of the god Dionysus. There is a " Saint Ariadne " and Ariadne is a female first name more common in Europe.

These days you find the name Ariadne all over the web - but Ariadne Designs Ltd was one of the first companies to use the name in the context of the world wide web. We were formed originally in 1996 and have been developing innovative websites and spreading the word ever since. We are a company dedicated to improving the web through well designed websites. Just as Ariadne helped Thesius escape the labyrinth so we can help you to get through the maze of the World Wide Web. You can find out more about Ariadne from the following sources:

Question: In mythology, which female gave Theseus a ball of thread to guide him out of the labyrinth?
Answer: Ariadne